Emily Wynne, Simon D Connell, Rachael Shinebaum, Helen Blade, Neil George, Andy Brown, Sean M Collins
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Waxes comprise a diverse set of materials from lubricants and coatings to biological materials such as the intracuticular wax layers on plant leaves that restrict water loss to inhibit dehydration. Despite the often mixed hydrocarbon chain lengths and functional groups within waxes, they show a propensity for ordering into crystalline phases, albeit with a wealth of solid solution behavior and disorder modes that determine chemical transport and mechanical properties. Here, we reveal the microscopic structure and heterogeneity of replica leaf wax models based on the dominant wax types in the Schefflera elegantissima plant, namely C31H64 and C30H61OH and their binary mixtures. We observe defined grain microstructure in C31H64 crystals and nanoscale domains of chain-ordered lamellae within these grains. Moreover, nematic phases and dynamical disorder coexist with the domains of ordered lamellae. C30H61OH exhibits more disordered chain packing with no grain structure or lamellar domains. Binary mixtures from 0-50% C30H61OH exhibit a loss of grain structure with increasing alcohol content accompanied by increasingly nematic rather than lamellar chain packing, suggesting a partial but limited solid solution behavior. Together, these results unveil the previously unseen microstructural features governing flexibility and permeability in leaf waxes and outline an approach to microstructure analysis across agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food.
期刊介绍:
The aim of Crystal Growth & Design is to stimulate crossfertilization of knowledge among scientists and engineers working in the fields of crystal growth, crystal engineering, and the industrial application of crystalline materials.
Crystal Growth & Design publishes theoretical and experimental studies of the physical, chemical, and biological phenomena and processes related to the design, growth, and application of crystalline materials. Synergistic approaches originating from different disciplines and technologies and integrating the fields of crystal growth, crystal engineering, intermolecular interactions, and industrial application are encouraged.